Can't We Just Kiss and Makeup?
by Noie84
Summary: Jack is feeling unsettled...
1. Chapter 1

It feels pretty good to have her job back. Granted, she was only unemployed for 12 hours but it was a freighting 12 hours – chock full of witnessing her idol drink wine out of a thermos, getting harassed by loiters in Little Chechnya and realizing winning a slew of awards in no way guarantees long-term financial security. But she now has her old job back and Jack has promised to show her how she can turn money into more money. So, being a follower and writing poop jokes on a mediocre variety show has its upside.

She is in her reclaimed office unpacking the box of knickknacks that Jonathan hastily put in a box when he gleefully told her she was fired. That nerd broke her Chewbacca figurine and she'll have to find a way to get back at him for that. Maybe have Frank fart in his chair, or better yet, have Frank sit on Jonathan and fart on him _while_ he's in his chair. She snickers at the thought, and is startled when she hears a quiet knock on the door.

"Lemon?" Liz turns around and sees Jack standing in the doorway looking rather pensive.

Her face drops and she immediately fears the worst, "Oh no, you're gonna fire me again."

"Lemon…"

"I fired Rosemary! And I wrote two product integration sketches this morning so…"

"Lemon, you're not fired." His interruption is hasty, but measured.

"If I'm not fired, then why are you looking like you have awful news to tell me? Ugh, do I have to fire other people?!" She panics.

"Liz, nobody is getting fired!" He barks impatiently, which causes Liz to pout and sink down in her chair.

"Then what's wrong?"

"I still feel…unsettled after our disagreement yesterday."

"Unsettled?"

"Yes, as if things are still tense. Up in the air." He casually crosses the room and leans his hip against the desk while Liz looks up at him and frowns in confusion.

"We had a drink last night and you rehired me. I think things are…fine." She replies hesitantly.

"A moment ago you were under the impression that I was about to fire you again. I believe that indicates that things are far from fine."

"Okay, I'm a little on edge. But it'll go away and then everything will be back to normal." Her hand reaches up to playfully smack his chest and she forces a smile. "We'll be buddies again. Yay!" When he doesn't respond to her over-the-top enthusiasm, her smile falters and she adds, "or not."

"I have no doubt that things will right themselves in time, Lemon. But I've never been a man to simply wait for dynamics to alter naturally. I believe we need to be proactive about this, so we can put this matter behind us and resume our healthy working relationship."

"Okay," she exhales. "That sounds good. How do we go about doing that?"

"Well, in the past, when I had a dispute with a coworker we would usually engage in some physical activity to duke it out. A good show of sportsmanship in golf or squash would usually do the trick."

"I don't want to play golf or squash with you, Jack. Those games are totally gayballs. We could play capture the flag!"

"I don't know what that is, nor do I care."

She crosses her arms and attempts to continue their brainstorming session. "We could pig out on junk food together. We both love to stuff our face."

"While this is true, neither of us can afford to indulge in said activity." He looks her up and down critically before adding, "you especially."

She glowers at him and then yells in frustration, "Well, why don't you come up with some genius idea? Isn't that why you get paid the big bucks? To manage your employees?"

He takes a moment to ponder additional scenarios and Liz stares at him anticipatorily. "Perhaps an innocuous show of affection should suffice?"

Liz grins knowingly- this she understands. "You want to hug it out?"

Jack cocks his head to the side, considering her request – this wasn't exactly what he had in mind – but he decides to give it a shot. "Yes…let's try…hugging." He says, as if the concept is foreign to him.

Liz gets up from the chair and eagerly extends her arms and wraps them around Jack's middle. Jack, for his part, is not a hugger and this becomes increasingly obvious when his arms encircle her stiffly. It's almost as if she's hugging a corpse.

"Well…that was pretty anti-climatic." She observes disappointingly once she breaks away from the awkward embrace.

"Yes, I believe things are _worse _now. So, thanks for that, Lemon."

"Hey! That was a decent hug right there. I did the lean in and mid-section squeeze and everything. It's not my fault you are bad at innocent and platonic displays of affection."

At that, Jack's face lights up, as if he's suddenly had an epiphany. "That's it!"

She stares at him blankly, "What's it?"

"I'm horrible at platonic displays of affection, true. But romantic displays of affection are…" He puffs out his chest arrogantly and smirks, "my forte."

"Please tell me you're not saying what I think you're saying."

"We should have makeup sex." He says evenly, without a hint of sarcasm.

"Oh, gross." She plops back in her chair and covers her eyes. "Not happening, Jack. Never ever. Ever." She opens her eyes and he's still smirking. "Ever!"

"I don't understand why you are so vehement in your objection. In my experience after fighting with a female, the best method for remedying tension and negative feelings is through a passionate bout of intercourse."

"Do you know how messed up that is, Jack? That you can only fix a dysfunctional relationship with a woman by sleeping with her? Don't you think the sex would just add to the problems you're already experiencing?" She asks incredulously.

"Spoken like someone who has never had satisfactory make-up sex before."

She opens her mouth to protest, but she knows it's true. Whenever she'd fight with Dennis, he'd make it up to her with food. Conan would write a song and serenade her. Since chili and hearing your boyfriend sing in a high-pitch, feminine voice aren't exactly aphrodisiacs, she never felt the need to jump a guy after a fight in order to defuse the tension. She's never fought with anybody so passionately that she even felt an urge to do something physical with him once they've made up. But Jack is different. When they do fight or bicker – which happens on a weekly basis – she admits that it ignites something within her that she never felt before. She always assumed that this is because no man has managed to infuriate her to such an alarming degree. Regardless, she's seen enough soap operas to know that a passionate tryst with the boss is never a good idea.

So she musters up all the conviction within her and declares, "Despite the tenuous status of our relationship, I will not and cannot have sex with you, Jack. And you can't make me, because that would be sexual harassment."

He frowns, "I have no desire to coerce you into sex, Lemon." He actually sounds pretty dejected when he says, "I was merely trying to restore balance to our dynamic."

She tenderly places her hand on his shoulder and says, "I appreciate it. But I think we're just going to have to wait this one out."

He brushes her hand aside and rises to his feet swiftly, as if he didn't just propose they have sex and as if she didn't abruptly reject his proposal. "Very well. I suppose I will see you around." His neutral tone of voice causes Liz to peer at him sadly, but she doesn't stop him from exiting her office.

For the next two weeks, whenever Liz feels guilty for rejecting him, she consoles herself with the fact that Jack's a big boy. He can't go around thinking sex solves every single female related problem for the rest of his life. Her guilty conscience gets the best of her though, because she hasn't seen Jack since the afternoon in her office and she kinda feels like she handled his suggestion like a jerk. He's clearly avoiding her and now things between them even more strained than before. During this tense time, they've taken to corresponding through email or using Pete as an intermediary. This isn't helping because Liz has never really been super responsive with her emails and Pete is still scared to death of Jack. So essentially nothing is getting done, she feels horrible for making her friend fell like crap, and yeah, she misses talking to him everyday. She decides, against her better judgment, to take one for the team. After all, things can't get anymore awkward then they are right now.

When she reaches the 52-second floor in late in the afternoon, she brushes by Jonathan and ignores his persistent claims that Jack is too busy to see her. ("Shut up, nerd." Is her response to, "Mr. Donaghy is _very_ busy right now…").

When she knocks a gruff, "Come in," is heard from behind the door. She flashes Jonathan a spiteful smile and tentatively opens the door before quickly closing it shut. She doesn't want Jonathan to hear _any_ of this conversation.

"Hey, Jack…long time no see." She says awkwardly.

Jack doesn't even bother looking up from his desk when he says, "I'm in the middle of something, Lemon. If you have a point to reach, I'd appreciate if you would get to it quickly."

"What's with the passive-aggressive d-bag tone, Jack?"

This comment certainly succeeds in gaining his attention, because he angrily throws his pen on the desk, looks up and scowls at her, "You dismissively rebuffed my attempt to repair our relationship. How else would you expect me to behave?"

"I…I don't know. But now things are so much worse. I want to fix it." She whines and Jack lets out an exasperated sigh in response.

"I want that very much too, Liz. But aside from transferring you to another division, sleeping with you or ignoring you, I'm fresh out of ideas. I've never mentored a woman, so this…tension…is new to me."

His earnestness and despair clinches it for Liz and she decides to make a bold (for her) decision. "Okay, let's do it."

"Do what?"

"The second option. The make-up sex. I'm down." She nods her head decisively and Jack looks at her like she might be insane.

"I'm going to need you to repeat that." He says slowly, and Liz glares at him in frustration.

"You heard me. Let's do it. I mean, you're not horrible to look at. And you definitely know what you're doing when it comes to sex stuff and I've slept with worse people for less than noble reasons. Did I tell you that the last time I slept with Dennis was because he killed a cockroach in my apartment? I probably shouldn't have said that." She cringes at her word vomit and then shakes her head in order to get back to the discussion at hand. "So, I think we should do this. Unless…you've changed your mind?"

"That is probably the most sensible thing you've ever said." He stares at her seriously, rises from his desk and crosses over to her. "And I most certainly have not change my mind."

He places his hand on her hip and his eyes drift down to her mouth. He begins to lean forward but Liz's hand on his chest pushes him away. "Whoa, Jack. What are you doing?"

Perplexed, he says, "I was going to kiss you. That is usually what people do to each other before engaging in sex."

"Yeah, we're not boffing in your office. If we do, I'll constantly think about me being naked on your desk every time I come in here."

"I fail to see how that could be a problem." He smirks, but then realizes she might change her mind again if he's unable to put her at ease. "Where would you like to do this then? You're apartment?"

"No, let's go to your place. I've never been, but I assume it's nicer than mine."

"Having been to your place, I can confirm that it is most definitely nicer than yours." He ignores Liz's eye roll, and places his hand on the small of her back while ushering her to the door.

"You want to do this _now_? I mean…I have work to do…"

"As your boss, I'm giving you permission to take a half day." When he opens the door, he bellows to Jonathan, "Hold all my calls for the rest of the day. Ms. Lemon and I will be indisposed."

"Yes, sir." He murmurs meekly. Before Liz can have a chance to rub it in the twerps face, Jack gently and impatiently pushes her toward the elevator doors. So, this is definitely happening. Yikes.


	2. Chapter 2

She can't believe she's doing this. If she got into a fight with Gary she would _never _consider sleeping with him as a way to rectify the situation. She would probably go straight to HR and report him the moment he suggested it. But Gary was 20 years older than her, married and had a weird mole thing on his face. Jack is slightly better looking. Or, actually, much better looking. But she's never lusted after anybody, so she's not quite sure why Jack's objectively attractive appearance would change her attitude toward sex. She justifies her actions with the realization that she has always used sex as a means to an end. The promise of sex would always guarantee Dennis gifting her with a delicious sub or fixing something in her apartment (he would usually break it first, but that is beside the point). So, there is a clear purpose to her having sex with Jack. She wants her friend and boss back. And after this weird sex thing is over, they'll go back to being mentor and mentee.

In an effort to confirm the desired end result for their tryst she asks nervously, "So…after I let you do stuff to me, things will go back to normal, right?"

Jack raises his eyebrow and replies, "To use your unfortunate terminology, we will be doing _stuff _to each other." He straightens his tie and looks out the window of the town car to see get a sense of how far they are from his apartment. "And I am confident that we will revert back to our status quo immediately after we…indulge in certain pleasurable acts."

She cringes at his phrasing, "Um, ew. There really shouldn't be any pleasure. I want normal methodical sex, okay?"

Jack scoffs, "You do realize one important aspect of make-up sex is passion, correct?"

"You know, I'm going to read up about this make-up sex thing. I think you're just making this up as you go along to prove some kind of perverted point." She reaches into her pocket to retrieve her smart phone, but Jack grabs her wrist to stop her.

"Yes, because I spend all my free time conceiving the ways in which I can manipulate Elizabeth Lemon into sex."

She frowns, "Yeah, about that. Why do you even want to do this, Jack? I thought you found me…kinda gross."

He bristles at her question and says offhandedly, "You're far from repulsive, Lemon. When you take pride your appearance you can even be quite decent to look at."

"Well, thanks. For not finding me disgusting."

He ignores her sarcasm and grabs her hand. "You're welcome."

When they reach his apartment, Jack continues holding onto her hand as they stride into his lobby and past his doorman. She has the urge to inform his doorman that they are not a couple and are not about to have sex (despite the hand holding), but she realizes that volunteering such information would probably kill the mood. Not that there was a mood to this thing. More like, it would be distracting. And Liz thinks this is an important time to stay on topic.

In the elevator they're still holding hands, but not talking. This is a little awkward, it's almost as if they're complete strangers, but she doesn't know what to say to fill the silence. After a moment she asks, "So. You know I'm not into anything kinky, right?"

He peers at her, his lips curving into an amused smile. "I'm fairly adept at reading a women's preferences, Lemon. You don't need to provide me with a sexual disclaimer."

She breathes a sigh of relief, "Okay. Great. I was worried that you might try to get me into your sex dungeon or something." When he doesn't respond, her eyes widen with panic, "You don't _own_ a sex dungeon do you?"

He smirks, "If I did, I would certainly never show it to you. So you have nothing to worry about."

After the elevator door opens, he pulls her down the hallway and they stop when they reach his door. He turns around and looks at her seriously before tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. "Liz, if this really makes you uncomfortable, you can back out."

"But what about restoring balance?"

He shrugs, "I'm a patient man. I suppose I could probably wait for our situation to resolve itself organically if need be."

She snorts incredulously, "Dude, you are many things but patient isn't one of them."

"Fine, then I will wait _impatiently_ for our relationship revert to normal."

She shakes her head. Waiting around for an indefinite period of time is not something she wants, and she's psyched herself up for sex with Jack. So she does something that she never imagined she'd do: She grabs Jack's face and plants a firm and decisive kiss on his lips. She can feel him flinch for split second, but once he overcomes the shock, he wraps his arms around her and deepens the kiss. Moaning against her lips, he blindingly inserts his key in the door and shoves her against the wall once he manages to get the door open.

It doesn't take long for her to grind her pelvis against his, and he groans at her body's quick and unexpected interest in moving things forward.

"What has gotten into you, Lemon?" He mutters against her neck.

"Um…well, I just thought about waiting months for me to be able to talk to you about my problems and I don't want to do that. I have a lot of things I need your help with…for one, I got this really scary letter from the IRS..."

"I'll look at it tomorrow." He says without hesitation as he resumes kissing her. He then pulls back slightly, his face showing grave concern, "You aren't doing this solely for my connections with the federal government, are you?"

"No." She says quickly, "I also missed talking to you. Because you say douchey things, but a lot of them are pretty on the money. And you can be pretty nice to me when you're not ragging on my clothing choices…"

"There's no need to feel shy for admitting your affection toward me. I've grown rather fond of you as well." He says with a smile and Liz finds herself mirroring his grin.

"May I undress you?" The question catches Liz off guard. Most men tend to unceremoniously and clumsily take off her clothes instantly with little finesse. And they most certainly don't bluntly ask her permission before they do. She realizes his direct question is so very Jack, and finds that it actually turns her on.

She exhales, "Yeah, sure." When Jack proceeds to undress her, he does so very slowly and deliberately. Like he's unwrapping some sort of gift. Liz wants to make a joke about it, but she's too mesmerized by what his hands are doing to her that she is unable to articulate anything coherent. When she's completely naked, she is tempted to cover herself up with her hands when she sees Jack eyes hungrily rove over her.

"You have a lovely body, Liz. You should show it off more often." He rasps against her lips after he spends a few moments carefully studying her figure.

"Thanks." She responds shyly, while running her hands up and down his arms. "Um, do you want me to return the favor?" She asks awkwardly, before letting her hands rest on his belt buckle.

"No."

"No? Why not? Are you trying to hide your penis from me or something? I promise I won't care if it's small."

Jack stares at her incredulously. Only Liz would imply that her potential lover has a small penis and not think there was anything remiss about doing so. "Lemon," he says sternly, "does this feel small to you?" He grabs her hand and then places it between his legs.

"Nope." She gulps nervously. Okay, so he's penis seems perfectly fine. That's…good.

"I simply want to take my time enjoying you before we move on to the main event. You deserve to experience adequate foreplay for once in your life." He explains, and normally Liz would be annoyed that he assumes to know everything about her (including the quality of sex she's had), but again, his hands and lips are turning her into somebody who is not very articulate or sharp. Good thing she's only sleeping with him once, because this newly developed character trait of hers might become a problem if this dynamic between them were to continue.

After an impressive (for her) make out session against his wall, Jack takes her hand and they pass through the living room of his expansive penthouse. "You_ live_ here?" She asks in awe when her eyes take in the clear glass windows that overlook what seems to be the entire New York skyline. There's a lot of mahogany, priceless antiques and (weirdly) paintings of horses. It's like she's in one giant exclusive gentleman's club for millionaires only.

"Do you not like it?"

"It's insane. I don't think I can have sex on any piece of furniture in this place. What happens if I break something? I mean, I think that lamp is worth more than what I make in a month."

"Nonsense, Lemon. If you broke something I certainly wouldn't charge you for a replacement. My home is not a Crate & Barrell." He says dismissively. "Come." He eagerly tugs on her arm and ushers her into his bedroom. His bedroom is equally intimidating, but Liz doesn't see what she could break by staying in his bed so she's a little more relaxed. She doesn't attempt to take off his clothes again, because she's not sure if he still wants to resume the foreplay, so she climbs on the bed and waits for him to join her.

Before he does, he begins tugging on his tie and removes it (oh, crap, maybe she _was _supposed to undress him), she begins to rise from the bed but Jack motions for her to stay put. "I like seeing you in my bed. There's no need to move."

So now she's watching Jack get undressed in front of her and his clear blue eyes locking with hers during his disrobing is making her heart race really fast. Within moments, he's naked as well and he smoothly crawls on top of her. "You're still sure about this, Liz?"

"Yeah." She breathes against his neck. "Just…go slow."

"As you wish." Following her instructions, he gradually eases himself inside her and Liz's sharp gasp causes him to still his movement.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes…that…just felt a lot better than I thought it would." She murmurs quietly.

He smirks, "Do you mean to admit that you've fantasized about being in this position with me?"

"Ugh! Can't you just shut up and let me enjoy this without being your smug, stupid self?" She groans in frustration.

"Again, Lemon, as you wish."

True to his promise, Jack doesn't utter a single word afterward. She is only mildly irritated when she notices that he gives her this self-satisfied smile whenever he does something to turn her on, but mostly she's happy that she found a way to get Jack to say yes to practically anything she says.

It's really unfortunate that this is a one-time incident. Because she has the urge to silence Jack on a regular basis, so this sex thing could've really come in handy. Damn.


	3. Chapter 3

"Okay," Liz mutters into the pillow, her lungs desperately gasping for air after Jack rolls off of her, her energy depleted body lying face down on his mattress. "I get why you think you're good at that."

Jack chuckles quietly in response, his body also fighting for some much needed oxygen. "So…balance restored?"

Liz swivels her head (it's really the only part of her body she can move at this point), "Oh yeah," she sighs, "I think if we introduce any more 'balance' you may break my vagina."

"Well, that's certainly a part of your anatomy I'd like to keep in tact." He smirks before getting out of bed. When Liz feels the bed shift and sees that he's walking toward his bathroom, she takes it as her cue to leave.

Reluctantly, she begins to prop herself up with her elbows so she can get out bed, but noticing her movement, Jack calls after her, "There's no need to leave so soon, Liz. You should rest. I'll be right back, I simply need to dispose of the condom."

Liz doesn't remember post-intercourse lounging around being part of the make-up sex phenomenon, but she defers to Jack's greater knowledge about these things. And also, closing her eyes for a few minutes seems like a great idea.

When Jack emerges from the bathroom clad in a plush navy blue robe and nothing else, he sees Liz splayed out in the middle of his bed, her hair shrouding her entire face, his sheets doing a very hasty and haphazard job of covering her nakedness. It is easily one of the most arousing sights he's ever seen.

"Is there an Elizabeth Lemon under there?" He teases, after crawling back into bed and using his fingers to lift some of Liz's hair away from her face.

"Don't make fun of me, you're the reason I look like such a gross mess." She pouts when she sees Jack's eyes twinkling with amusement.

"There is absolutely nothing 'gross' about the way you look right now." He muses while his hand proprietarily skims across her spine. "Are you hungry?" He stops himself before Liz can articulate a rejoinder and says, "Silly me, I forgot who I was talking to. Of course you're hungry….allow me to rephrase: What would you like to eat, Lemon?"

"You want to have dinner? With me?" Her tone is a mixture of disbelief and confusion. She definitely doesn't remember anybody mentioning dinner.

"Of course. I have no desire to simply send you on your way after we shared such an intimate act."

"Well…okay. But, isn't sex supposed to come after dinner?" She asks, as she tentatively sits up against the headboard.

"Conventionally speaking, yes. But you," He stops, to give her a quick tender kiss on the lips, "are a woman that defies convention."

Liz fingers brush up against her recently kissed lips and she stares at him in shock. She never expected for Jack to be so affectionate after they sealed the deal, but she doesn't know how to call him out his behavior appropriately. And, God help her, it actually feels really nice to be treated so well after sex.

"I could eat." She smiles.

"Wonderful." He rasps, "What are you in the mood for?"

"Everything." She says quickly, her smile widening at Jack's desire to please her.

"I can certainly arrange that. Would you like to freshen up?"

She nods, "Yeah. I need to put my face back together. Also, I want to call Pete and make sure the building hasn't burnt down in my absence."

"Usually, I would chide you for your paranoia, but if anybody's staff is capable of committing grand arson it's yours."

After Jack gets out of bed, he brings her purse to her so she can make herself presentable. "Hey…where are my clothes?"

"Ah, I was hoping you could do without your clothes for the rest of the evening. You can borrow a robe of mine, if you're uncomfortable eating naked."

Liz's jaw drops. She's pretty sure semi-naked dinners are not part of the standard make-up sex protocol. "Are you crazy? I'm not eating in the nude, I respect food too much for that. Can I please change back into what I was wearing?"

Jack lets out a disappointed sigh, "Very well. I'll order the food and will be right back with your clothes."

When Jack leaves the bedroom, Liz decides to investigate what this make-up sex business actually entails (in hindsight, she recognizes that she probably should have done this before agreeing to jump into bed with Jack, but conducting necessary research was never her strong suit). Grabbing her phone, she stumbles across a few websites and clicks on one that actually seems reputable and not creepy. When she reads a psychologist description of what make-up sex is, she gasps out loud and she feels herself getting angrier after every additional word she reads. "You loser!" She yells at Jack when he enters the bedroom with her clothes. As a follow up to her insult, she angrily throws one of his pillows at him and hops off the bed, clutching his sheets against her to preserve some sense of modesty.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Definition," she reads from her phone tersely, "make-up sex: when a couple resolves a dispute by engaging in passionate, rough intercourse immediately following an argument."

"Lemon…" Jack begins, his hands in the air as an obvious act of surrender.

"That is NOT what just happened between us because, one," she angrily holds one finger up and begins counting the numerous reasons why what transpired between them was not at all traditional make-up sex, "we are not a couple. Two - that wasn't rough at all! Not that I wanted it to be…" knowing she's getting off track, she pauses momentarily in order to collect her thoughts and calm herself down so she doesn't slap him across the face. "Anyway…" she continues, "three - this happened _two weeks_ after our argument which was pretty much resolved already."

"Liz, I can explain…" Jack says cautiously, but Liz is hardly interested in hearing an explanation.

"Give me my clothes, Jack." Her hands reach for her clothing, which is tucked securely under Jack's arm, but his other hand effectively shields her from gaining any access to it.

"Lemon, I'll give you your clothes, but I want you to hear me out."

"No! You totally lied about whatever the hell this was and now I feel so stupid for blindingly believing you…" Her voice cracks a bit and Jack's face softens when its clear that he's hurt her.

"Liz," he says quietly, "hurting you was never my intention." The somber tone of his voice has succeeded in gaining Liz's attention. Just when he's about to open his mouth to offer some sort of justification for what he's done, the doorbell rings.

"Shit…" He runs his hands over his face in frustration before placing her clothes in her hands and gently brushing his fingers along her hips. "I just ordered enough food to fulfill every one of your culinary fantasies. Please eat with me. I'll explain everything."

"Jack…"

Realizing he has little time to make impact before she runs out the door, he decides to lead his explanation with the absolute truth, "Liz, I did it because I have feelings for you."

She stares at him in shock. Opens and closes her mouth a couple times before she utters, "What?"

"You heard me. Please don't make me repeat it. At least, not before I tell you the whole story."

"You…_like_ me?"

"While I loathe the middle school-type wording…yes, I do 'like' you. So," he gently pulls her a little closer and he gives her a gentle, tentative kiss on her lips. "I'm going to get the door and pay for the food. After you get dressed, you're free to leave. But…I'd really love it if you stayed so I have the opportunity to redeem myself."

"I dunno…" she mutters, biting her bottom lip apprehensively.

"I'll understand whatever you decide, Liz." With that, he leaves her alone in his bedroom. Liz takes her time getting showered and dressed, much longer than she needs, because she is trying to wrap her head around the notion that Jack Donaghy has a crush on her. She doesn't know how this could the case. The cynical part of her thinks it might be another lie, but she would like to believe that Jack (despite his faults) is an honest person when it comes to matters of the heart.

After about a half hour, she emerges from the bedroom and shyly enters the dining room. Her eyes go wide when she sees that Jack ordered quite a spread. His dining room table is practically a representation of all of her favorite foods and she feels her chest expand at the generosity inherent in the gesture. "I can't eat all this." She gasps when the shock of seeing all the food in front of her subsides.

"I think the two of us together could do a decent amount of damage." Jack muses, sipping from his tumbler of scotch as he observes the feast in front of them. "That is, if you still are willing to be in my company."

Liz walks over to him and cocks her head to the side, "I'd like to hear more about the you having a crush on me thing."

He smiles, relieved that she's at least willing to hear him out, "I suppose I didn't know it existed until I fired you. After I did so, the thought of not seeing you every day began to gnaw at me. More than I thought it ever would."

"So then you concocted the whole make-up sex thing?

"I actually did think it was a valid solution at the time. But then when you rejected me, it became more apparent that I had to come up with a different tactic in order to resolve our differences, and also, for me to win over your affection. But then you stormed into my office and decided to take me up on my initial offer…something that was impossible for me to resist."

"You know…" she says with a quirked eyebrow, "you could have just asked me out like a normal dude."

He scoffs, "And if you rejected me again? Our working relationship would never have recovered."

"You were afraid." Her voice is quiet, understanding. She certainly emphasizes with being hesitant and tentative with regards to dating, but she never thought Jack would share the same apprehensions when it came to dealing with the opposite sex.

"I suppose I was."

Liz's gaze drifts from the eclectic variety of gourmet food to Jack's piercing blue eyes that are practically imploring her to forgive him. Motivated by pure instinct, Liz again decides to take control, and she purposefully walks up to Jack, gets up on her toes and brushes her lips against his own.

"So you want to date me?" She mutters against his lips.

"God, yes." He mumbles, his lips barely breaking apart from hers.

"Like, exclusively?

"Of course."

After this declaration, it doesn't take much for the kisses between them to deepen and for Liz's hands to find their way under Jack's robe. "Hey," she whispers, breaking away from his embrace momentarily, "promise me you'll never lie to me again. If you have something to say, I just want you to say it. Your brutal and douchey honesty is what I love most about you."

"Love?" He smirks with one raised eyebrow.

She rolls her eyes in response, "You know what I mean."

"I do indeed," he bends down again to kiss her, but interrupts his movement by saying, "so…Lemon…care to experience authentic make-up sex?"

She looks up at him adoringly, the man that she swore she'd never like, but now may be in love with, takes a deep breath, and says, "Go for it."

She learns a few interesting things about herself that night. Mainly, she really likes make-up sex. In fact, she's pretty sure she likes whatever version of make-up sex Jack comes up with.


End file.
